'Use Signal': How Elon Musk's tweet about the app benefitted a NGO

A tweet by world's richest person Elon Musk recommending the use of Signal app spurred a massive rally for another NGO by the same name.

The Tesla CEO Musk had appealed to people to switch to more encrypted apps than WhatsApp and Facebook and specifically mentioned Signal when asked about a safer alternative by his followers.

Also read: Elon Musk asks people to use Signal app instead of WhatsApp and Facebook over privacy issues

By the end of January 7, the shares of a tiny medical company called Signal Advance Inc had surged by more than six-fold.

Despite reports about the confusion over the weekend, the stock value of Signal's shares increased by 5,100 per cent in three days to reach $390 million.

Chris Hymel, President and CEO of Signal Advance, Inc said: "We strongly recommend people do their due diligence and always invest with care."

Also read: 'It stays between you': WhatsApp issues clarification after update in privacy policy

Signal Advance Inc has not filed an annual report with Securities and Exchange Commission in 2019 and it reportedly had no revenue from 2014 to 2016.

Musk's tweet about the Signal app had come after it was witnessing a sudden increase in demand due to larger rival WhatsApp's updated terms of service raised eyebrows on social media.

WhatsApp, which uses Signal's encryption technology, laid out fresh terms on Wednesday, asking users to agree to let owner Facebook Inc and its subsidiaries collect user data, including their phone number and location.

Some privacy activists questioned the "accept our data grab or get out" move on Twitter, and suggested users to switch to apps like Signal and Telegram.

Signal's popularity shot up further on Thursday after it was endorsed by Elon Musk, who has one of the most-followed accounts on Twitter and by the micro-blogging site's top boss Jack Dorsey.

More than 100,000 users installed Signal across the app stores of Apple and Google in the last two days, while Telegram picked up nearly 2.2 million downloads, according to data analytics firm Sensor Tower.

New installs of WhatsApp fell 11 per cent in the first seven days of 2021 compared with the prior week, but that still amounted to an estimated 10.5 million downloads globally, Sensor Tower said.